IT WAS a bus ride one year in the making, when the lobbyists from Juniper Rowethorpe in Bentley boarded the 201 to Bentley Hospital last week.
In March 2016, Julie Atkinson and Judith Robertson tabled a petition in State Parliament with 163 signatures calling on the Government to implement a bus route from the Hayman Road aged care homes to Bentley Hospital.
The pair were met with multiple rejections, including being told in no uncertain terms ‘no’ by the Public Transport Authority, before a chance meeting with South Metropolitan MLC Simon O’Brien picked up the pace to deliver results.
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READ NOWFrom March 7, route 201 will run five trips in each direction on weekdays to Bentley Hospital, Bentley Plaza and the Cannington train station.
The route will be trialled for three months, and continued if it is well utilised.
Ms Atkinson praised Mr O’Brien for his efforts and expertise as a former transport minister, and urged residents to catch the bus and prove it is a vital service for pensioners and the elderly in the surrounding residences.
“It is great to stand here boarding the bus, I can’t believe it is happening and I hope it changes as many lives as we think it will,” she said.
“People with mobility problems or arthritis or without licenses can now get to their appointments without needing to pay for taxis or wait for transfers from bus to bus,”
“I hope it is well used.”
The 20-minute bus route
Leaves Curtin University Bus Station at 8:32am, 9:33,am, 11:33am, 1:33pm and 3:54pm.
Travels to Curtin University Bus Station (Stop No: 11697) Adie Ct Before Hayman Rd (Stop No: 11253) Adie Ct Swan Cottage Homes (Stop No: 11252) Adie Ct After Jarrah Rd (Stop No: 11251) Jarrah Rd After Hill View Tce (Stop No: 11267) Holder St Before Hill View Tce (Stop No: 12092) Walpole St After Taree St (Stop No: 12096) Walpole St After Chapman Rd (Stop No: 12095) Chapman Rd / Pitt St (Stop No: 11766) Chapman Rd After Coolgardie St (Stop No: 11765) Ashburton St After Boulder St (Stop No: 27596) Bentley Plaza (Stop No: 10057) Albany Hwy After Leach Hwy (Stop No: 10056) Albany Hwy After Burton St (Stop No: 10055) Albany Hwy After Hamilton St (Stop No: 10054) Doust St After Mills St (Stop No: 27594) Bentley Health Service (Stop No: 13642) Mills St After Eldridge Gr (Stop No: 27591) Sevenoaks St Before Hamilton St (Stop No: 27589) Sevenoaks St After Mallard Wy (Stop No: 13545) Sevenoaks St Before Wharf St (Stop No: 27484) Cannington Station (Stop No: 27103)